The present invention relates to a vehicle steering apparatus of the type in which a steering wheel and a steering gear are mechanically separated from each other, i.e., of a so-called steer-by-wire type. The present invention further relates to a steering method for a vehicle having a steering apparatus of the above-described type.
For the purpose of informing a driver of a road surface condition, a conventional vehicle steering apparatus is configured to detect a vibration amplitude of a vibration absorbing member that constitutes part of a suspension system by means of a displacement sensor and thereby applies a supplementary reaction force corresponding to a displacement of the vibration absorbing member in addition to a steering reaction force determined with relation to a vehicle driving condition as disclosed in Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-182619.